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Care Homes and Business Electricity Price Comparisons

10 April 2017

Care Homes and Business Electricity Price Comparisons

Care homes are under increasing pressure to control costs as budgets across the country are squeezed. This is a common feature on many news outlets as discussions continue about the ability of care homes to deliver high quality services on increasingly tight budgets. Saving money on energy is, of course, not a complete solution to the financial challenges of care homes, but it can help. One way you can save money is by doing effective electricity price comparisons to ensure you get the best tariff when your contract is up for renewal.

This will also help ensure you don't automatically roll over once your current contract ends. This can be costly as your existing supplier will probably remove any introductory deals you are on and will put you on their most expensive rate.

Top Tips For Doing Electricity Price Comparisons

Know when your current contract is up for renewal.

Know the termination terms of your contract.

Using your past bills, look at your electricity usage. As a care home, you should be able to identify consistent patterns of how you use electricity.

Start investigating your options early so you have plenty of time to make a decision.

Go to a broad range of suppliers so you get as many options as possible. This includes price comparison tools, large energy providers, and small electricity suppliers.

Remember you will usually have to phone the supplier to get a detailed quote, although some do offer an online service.

The price you get will have a unit rate and a daily standing charge as well as an overall annual price estimate. Check each of these figures.

Also, look at other elements of the quote including the contract term and any offers. For example, you might get a cheaper price if you pay by direct debit.

Start haggling - you might be able to get a better deal.

After going through this process, you should have a shortlist of the best possible deals that are available on the market right now. You then must make a decision based on the needs of your business that includes the price you have to pay, the service offered, and, crucially, the length of the contract term, i.e. do you want to keep your options open by going for a short-term contract or do you want longer term stability by going for something more long-term?

Other Ways to Save on Electricity and Energy Costs

You can also save money on energy by following a similar process when renewing your gas supply. In addition, you can save money on heating and hot water costs by fitting energy efficient devices (such as eco shower heads in all your units) and by servicing or upgrading your boiler.

In terms of electricity, you should consider fitting motion sensors in public areas of your care home so lights automatically switch off when rooms are not in use, as well as fitting LED lights throughout the home.

Saving energy and reducing the cost of electricity is an ongoing process in a care home. You should regularly review how you use energy to identify where savings can be made.